would you vote for FF/GREENS?

newby.204 wrote: »

How could anybody in there right mind actually be thinking of voting for either a FF or GREEN party TD? I mean if a job is performance based, and surely being in government is, they would have been sacked a long time ago had we of been able to!!! I would actually like to hear from anybody who is seriously going to vote for FF/GP and why you think they could possibly do a better job this time round? Or is it a case of "better the devil you know"

Getting back to the original question and away from the urban / rural divide: I would vote for the Greens, but not for FF.

Why Green? I agree in general terms with their policies. Their time in government has been difficult but I think mostly not of their making. They have made some horrendous mistakes, including continuing to support the government when NAMA was being set up and that process was badly botched. I think the members involved can learn from those mistakes. Calling in November for an election in January was part of learning from that mistake, even if they didn't get that quite right either.

Why not FF? Because they are a thoroughly corrupt organisation without conscience or moral fibre. Their past and ongoing incestuous relationships with the building trade and the banks has led to bad decisions time after time. They are unashamedly open to bribery and payoffs from special interest groups, even if the tent at the Galway Races has been closed down recently.

For what it is worth: I live in the country about 30 miles from Dublin, so I am quite definitely on the 'rural' side of that irrelevant division.

Javan wrote: »

Regarding the fur / NAMA idiocy: Did you join the Green Party in order to have your opinion on NAMA counted?

So you have to join a party whose policies and philosophy you disagree with in order to stop them ruining the country ?

Does that not seem backward ?

At that logic I should be joining FF!!!! :eek:

The golden rules are don’t privatise a monopoly or invade Russia in the winter.

So one out of two is not bad.

But then….

Eircom has been sold more often than Eiffel Tower resulting in one of the biggest asset stripping operations in Irish history. Even the masts for mobile phones have been sold off. Broadband is a national disgrace, everywhere except a rumoured quarter mile in a secret Dublin location.

I am not certain were the politicians thought all the developers were borrowing the money to buy sites at a million euro a square yard. One would suspect that they may have considered the banks. But this was not so as, they are so fast to confirm, the Irish banking crises came as a complete surprise to them all.

The creation of secondary earnings for “friends of the good” moved from being qualified for a salary in the dark recesses of “expenses” for being a secretary, lover, brother or in-law to the light of an appointment on one of the 850 or so Boards/Organizations (Quango’s) created to ensure that all things were done in triple twice over at three times the cost. All these extra protections against any form of efficiency did and do not, come cheap. I have heard the figure of 35 billion as the cost of these outfits but cannot state that figure as fact.

FF was very keen on reports and committees Board snip in fact recommended the winding up of the majority of quangos. Two years ago. So FF created a few more instead including the all new
singing and dancing as it fails to float NAMA.
So, we of the Ballinguyroe Liberation Front are proposing the following manifesto:

Get rid of all the Quango’s. That is a saving of several billions and we could start the New Ireland with a government that actually governs. Got to be worth a try.

Invest in public transport. E.g.: We may not find it strange that to travel from Cork to Wexford by train requires that we go via Dublin nor, that this can take half a day with standing room only. But foreigners do find this strange.

Anybody wanting to be a politician is automatically disqualified on the grounds of untrustworthy and of shady character.

The much hyped myth that you cannot get good people unless you pay top dollar lies in the wasteland that is the property/banking sectors.

If a person will only serve their country if the money is right then I don’t want them near any responsibility.

So, in answer to your thread. No, but there are people out there who will vote FF even if they had murdered their first born child. Go figure.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

So you have to join a party whose policies and philosophy you disagree with in order to stop them ruining the country ?

Does that not seem backward ?

At that logic I should be joining FF!!!! :eek:

It does not seem at all backward to me that people who join a party and get involved get to influence policy more than those who do not. If you want to directly influence policy then spend time 'doing politics'.

kbannon wrote: »

Comhaontas Glasraí
Vote #1 in Election 2007
http://www.greenparty.ie/en/about/party_archives/election_2007/manifesto_2007

How did they get on again?

Social Welfare - Benchmark the lowest social welfare payment for a single person at 50% of average income

:eek: 2007 seems so long ago now

Koyasan wrote: »

I've been reading this argument and a lot of people seem to be unaware that before the election the Greens stated that they were not ruling out going into government with anyone, but would prefer an alternative to FF: a FG/Lab/Greens coaltition. Part of it here

I would consider myself fairly politically astute and I would have taken it as pretty much a given.

If nothing else Trevor Sargent's phrasing increased mistrust in politicians; maybe, perversely, he's done us a favour in that, and we now analyse everything they say for alternative meanings, however it has come at too much of a cost.

I notice that you didn't mention anything that The Greens helped FF foist on us. Leaving aside them getting into Government, they chose NAMA & Anglo over the people of the country (through another phrasing issue whereby they needed a majority to vote against it, instead of a majority to vote for it) and that is reason enough alone to rule them out of being suitable.

They have also, as I've said elsewhere, abandoned their "polluter pays" principle, which was one area where I agreed with them.

Koyasan wrote: »

And no on has mentioned that Enda Kenny vetoed the FG/Lab/Greens coaltition. He couldn't get FF independents and refused to discuss including support from SF. Without SF there were simply not enough TDs. Instead of blaming the Greens for there not being a FG/Labour/Greens coalition, people should blame Enda Kenny.

If he ruled out SF, then he's gone up in my opinion.

[QUOTE=Koyasan;70531519The only people who shouldn't blame him are thsoe who believe that FF in power is better than SF being anywhere near power. In that case, those people should blame MATHS.[/QUOTE]

Despite your attempt to lay blame elsewhere, The Greens still made unacceptable choices. MATHS might dictate that I might need to overcharge clients or rob an old lady to make ends meet, but I wouldn't contemplate such an action.

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

North Dublin is the most fertile area of the Irish Free State.

I noted your reference to 'the Irish Free State' in the Irish Language thread and I'm puzzled - the Irish Free State operated from 1922-1937.